We’ve been excited to see the animated version of the Dr. Seuss classic “The Lorax” ever since we first wrote about its development in 2009. As Wikipedia so nicely summarizes, the story “chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler.”

And then we saw the trailer – which appeared to diverge a bit from the Seuss story. And of course, there was some hesitation with Danny DeVito as the voice of the Lorax. But hey – at least they’d get the environmental message down, right? Right!? Damnit.

Here is a brief round-up reviews for the film; which opens nationwide today.

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is, for the most part, a terminally underwhelming animated endeavor that ultimately does a disservice to its literary predecessor (eg Ted’s interest in saving the environment lies solely in his hopes for impressing a girl).”
— David Nusair

Well … its heart’s in the right place. Give the filmmakers that.
This isn’t The Grinch or The Cat in the Hat.
It’s not outright ugly, though it slips off the rails.
It wants to be decent. It tries. But it fails.
— Steven Greydanus

“It’s not that it’s a dreadful cartoon. It just feels like every other middling cartoon. (If you want to appreciate how good Pixar and Dreamworks can be, sit through some animated movies they didn’t make.)”
— Stephen Whitty

“Which all means that conservative pundit Lou Dobbs is correct, this movie is trying to hook kids on environmentalism. And more power to it. It’s frankly refreshing to see an animated family film take a clear side on an issue that affects every living creature on the planet instead of conceding that both sides have equivalent points to make.”
— Dave White

If you’ve seen the film, let us know what you thought below!

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About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.